Community

PRESENT

What might we create together? This is what I always ask when I meet someone new, and I hope the question has you considering the possibilities. I love collaborations and community projects and am always on the lookout for the next adventure, whether literarily-focused or otherwise. Contact me with any queries or ideas – the following list of potential opportunities is by no means exhaustive.

Looking for someone to co-author a project?
Needing workshop facilitators for an event?
Considering options for presenters at a reading series?
Interested in setting up an interview?
Wanting a quote about a topic into which I have written?
Hosting a community celebration in need of literacy activities?
Searching for that perfect contribution to an anthology?
Hoping to find the right speaker?
Wondering who you might get to run a poetry class?
Thinking about introducing a school literacy program?
Excited by what we could create?

PLANNED

This is the place to look if you want to stay in the loop about my current projects and involvement in upcoming events.

2nd and 4th Thursday of each month (excluding summer), 6:30-8:00pm – I co-facilitate the Leigh Square Writers Group out of The Gathering Place with Nikki Hillman.
January 7 to April 30 – I am serving a four-month term as the Artist-in-Residence for the City of Port Coquitlam.
January through April, on Mondays (excluding February 18 and April 22) – As the Artist-in-Residence for the City of Port Coquitlam, I am hosting Artist Open Studio hours from 1:00-4:00pm as dedicated time to interact with the public, answer questions, and speak about my writing. Please come by and say hello!
January through April, on Saturdays – As the Artist-in-Residence for the City of Port Coquitlam, I am running free drop-in writing sessions wherein attendees are given time to write after receiving light guidance through the use of age appropriate writing prompts. Ages 8-12, 12:30-1:30pm; Ages 13-17, 2:00-3:00pm; Ages 18+, 3:30-4:30pm
Sunday, March 17, 2019, 2:00-4:00pm (Ages 18+) – As the Artist-in-Residence for the City of Port Coquitlam, I will teach a writing class in which participants will focus on honouring grief, and on the development of literary skills in relation to the topic, by applying lessons on the discipline’s core constructs. (Register at experienceit.ca with #34378.)
Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 7:00-9:00pm – I am the featured reader for the Words in the Burbs event at Western Sky Books.
Thursday, March 21, 2019, 2:00-3:00pm (Ages 8-12) – I will help kids experiment with language in a fun World Poetry Day workshop by creating personalized sets of magnetic nouns, verbs, adjectives, and more. Participants will also handcraft a cardstock box for storing their inspirational word kits, and can try their hand at arranging poems in class. (Register by calling the Terry Fox Library at 604-927-7999.)
Saturday, May 11, 2019, 12:00-5:00pm – As the Artist-in-Residence for the City of Port Coquitlam, I will be running a free “Found Haikus” activity at the May Day Festival. I will guide children in the process of using old magazines to seek words and images that will come together to create a visually impactful, short poem.

PAST

Want to know what I have been up to? This is a list of my previous community participation, event involvement, and collaborative endeavors.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 9:00-11:00pm – For this Chapters Pinetree Village members-only event, I offered a Tiny Books workshop. Every half hour, I started a new session with a quick reading of flash fiction, and then taught participants how to craft their own easy-to-make miniature book keepsakes, which they had the option of turning into pendants.
January 20, 2019, 2:00-4:00pm (ages 8-12) – As the Artist-in-Residence for the City of Port Coquitlam, I taught a writing class in which children were guided to use story-based activities to both highlight the importance of gratitude and to underscore the necessity of forward momentum.
November 25 to December 10, 2018 – I edited and curated a Joanne Fedler Media blog series, featuring writers in support of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
October 2018 – I liaised for visiting children’s book author, Tanya Southey, to get her story onto the shelves of local stores.
September 28, 2018 – I sat as a committee member and was an invited speaker for a “Foundation of Life” breastfeeding celebration.
August 9, 2018 – I read at the Port Coquitlam Farmers Market’s “Books and Blueberries” day.
April 6, 2018 – I read my “Tribe” poem at a Celebration of the Arts Gala, where my piece was also mounted and displayed among other artistic works.
September 20, 2018 – I read at the Tri-City Writers Read event.
August 17, 2017 – I read at the Port Coquitlam Farmers Market’s “For the Love of Books” day.
May 13, 2017 – I read my “PoCo Motive” poem at the May Day Mayor’s Breakfast.
Spring 2011 – I provided valuable feedback as a first reader for Daryl Stennett’s Behind the Steam: The Inside Story of the Gastown Steam Clock.